US20210228035A1 - Robotic cleaning device with retractable side brush - Google Patents
Robotic cleaning device with retractable side brush Download PDFInfo
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- US20210228035A1 US20210228035A1 US17/052,989 US201817052989A US2021228035A1 US 20210228035 A1 US20210228035 A1 US 20210228035A1 US 201817052989 A US201817052989 A US 201817052989A US 2021228035 A1 US2021228035 A1 US 2021228035A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- side brush
- cleaning device
- robotic cleaning
- space
- threaded rod
- Prior art date
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- Abandoned
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- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 62
- 241001417527 Pempheridae Species 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000006399 behavior Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000428 dust Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003116 impacting effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010408 sweeping Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/02—Nozzles
- A47L9/04—Nozzles with driven brushes or agitators
- A47L9/0494—Height adjustment of dust-loosening tools
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46B—BRUSHES
- A46B13/00—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers
- A46B13/008—Disc-shaped brush bodies
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46B—BRUSHES
- A46B13/00—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers
- A46B13/02—Brushes with driven brush bodies or carriers power-driven carriers
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46B—BRUSHES
- A46B15/00—Other brushes; Brushes with additional arrangements
- A46B15/0095—Brushes with a feature for storage after use
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/02—Nozzles
- A47L9/04—Nozzles with driven brushes or agitators
- A47L9/0405—Driving means for the brushes or agitators
- A47L9/0411—Driving means for the brushes or agitators driven by electric motor
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/02—Nozzles
- A47L9/04—Nozzles with driven brushes or agitators
- A47L9/0461—Dust-loosening tools, e.g. agitators, brushes
- A47L9/0466—Rotating tools
- A47L9/0472—Discs
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
- A47L9/2836—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means characterised by the parts which are controlled
- A47L9/2847—Surface treating elements
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
- A47L9/2836—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means characterised by the parts which are controlled
- A47L9/2852—Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46B—BRUSHES
- A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
- A46B2200/30—Brushes for cleaning or polishing
- A46B2200/3033—Household brush, i.e. brushes for cleaning in the house or dishes
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
- A47L2201/04—Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
- A47L2201/06—Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
Definitions
- the invention relates to a robotic cleaning device being equipped with at least one retractable side brush.
- Robotic vacuum cleaners are known in the art, which are equipped with drive means in the form of motors for moving the cleaner across a surface to be cleaned.
- the robotic vacuum cleaners are further equipped with intelligence in the form of microprocessor(s) and navigation means for enabling an autonomous behaviour such that the robotic vacuum cleaners freely can move around and clean a space in the form of e.g. a room.
- robotic vacuum cleaners have been arranged with circular-shaped main bodies.
- Such a robot having co-axial drive wheels at the centre of its body has the advantage that it is easy to control and cannot easily get stuck since it always can rotate 180° and go back the same way it came.
- the circular-shaped main body makes them unsuitable for cleaning corners or edges where a floor meets a wall since these circular vacuum cleaners due to their shape cannot move into a corner or close enough to a wall, or other objects around which cleaning is required such as e.g. chair legs.
- a problem with side brushes is that they have a tendency of performing poorly on certain types of surfaces, such as for instance carpets where carpet fibres can get entangled with the rotating brushes. Further, carpets also wear the side brushes down thereby impacting their durability and may even cause unintentional lift of the robot, not letting it sink into the carpet to clean it thoroughly. Another disadvantage is that the side brushes hamper the capability of the robot to climb over objects such as thresholds, cables and carpet edges.
- An object of the invention is to solve, or at least mitigate this problem in the art, and thus to provide a robotic vacuum cleaner which is not hampered by its side brushes.
- a robotic cleaning device comprising, a main body, a propulsion system configured to move the robotic cleaning device over a surface to be cleaned, a controller configured to control the propulsion system to move the robotic cleaning device over the surface to be cleaned, at least one rotatable side brush arranged to sweep debris from the surface to be cleaned.
- the robotic cleaning device further comprises a mechanism configured to at least partly retract said at least one rotatable side brush into a space arranged inside the main body upon receiving a control signal from the controller, such that the rotatable side brush is moved out of contact with the surface to be cleaned.
- the robotic cleaning device can avoid a situation where the side brush entangles with fibres of a carpet, or to improve the capability of the robot to climb over objects such as thresholds, cables and carpet edges, or simply enable to not permanently have the side brush contacting the surface over which the robotic cleaning device moves.
- the mechanism further comprises a retractable member coupled to the at least one rotatable side brush arranged to retract the at least one rotatable side brush into said space, and an actuator (e.g. a motor) arranged to move the retractable member into, or out of, said space upon receiving a control signal from the controller.
- an actuator e.g. a motor
- said at least one rotatable side brush is arranged to be retractable into the space inside the main body in an axial direction with respect to the rotational axis of the side brush.
- said space is cylindrically shaped and the mechanism configured to retract said at least one rotatable side brush comprises a threaded rod located in the cylindrically shaped space, an annular threaded member to which the at least one rotatable side brush is attached, the annular threaded member being arranged to engage with the threaded rod, and an actuator (e.g. a motor) configured to rotate the threaded rod.
- an actuator e.g. a motor
- a diameter of the cylindrically shaped space is adapted to a dimension of the at least one rotatable side brush such that friction is created between the side brush and an interior of the cylindrically shaped space, thereby at least partly preventing the at least one rotatable side brush ( 114 ) to rotate when in contact with said interior, wherein said friction causes the annular threaded member to move along the threaded rod to extend out from the space in order to have the at least one rotatable side brush rotate and sweep the debris from the surface to be cleaned upon the threaded rod rotating in a first direction, the threaded annular member moving along the threaded rod until it reaches an end member of the threaded rod preventing the annular threaded member to move out of threaded engagement with the threaded rod, and friction between the at least one rotating side brush and the surface to be cleaned causes the annular threaded member to move along the threaded rod to retract into the space upon the threaded rod rotating in a second direction.
- the same actuator is used for
- the mechanism further comprises a spring arranged between the annular threaded member and the end member.
- the robotic cleaning device further comprises an opening in a bottom side of the main body via which debris is removed from the surface, wherein the at least one rotatable side brush is arranged adjacent to the opening.
- FIG. 1 shows a robotic cleaning device according to an exemplifying embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 shows the robotic cleaning device of FIG. 1 in a front view
- FIG. 3 shows retraction of a rotatable side brush in an embodiment
- FIG. 4 shows retraction of a rotatable side brush in another embodiment
- FIGS. 5 a and b shows retraction/extension of a rotatable side brush in an embodiment
- FIGS. 6 a and b shows extension of a rotatable side brush in an embodiment
- FIG. 7 shows a spring-biased side brush in an embodiment.
- the invention relates to robotic cleaning devices, or in other words, to automatic, self-propelled machines for cleaning a surface, e.g. a robotic vacuum cleaner, a robotic sweeper or a robotic floor washer.
- the robotic cleaning device according to the invention can be mains-operated and have a cord, be battery-operated or use any other kind of suitable energy source, for example solar energy.
- FIG. 1 shows a robotic cleaning device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention in a bottom view, i.e. the bottom side of the robotic cleaning device is shown.
- the arrow indicates the forward direction of the robotic cleaning device 100 being illustrated in the form of a robotic vacuum cleaner.
- the robotic cleaning device 100 comprises a main body in housing components such as a propulsion system comprising driving means in the form of two electric wheel motors 115 a , 115 b for enabling movement of the driving wheels 112 , 113 such that the cleaning device can be moved over a surface to be cleaned.
- Each wheel motor 115 a , 115 b is capable of controlling the respective driving wheel 112 , 113 to rotate independently of each other in order to move the robotic cleaning device 100 across the surface to be cleaned.
- a number of different driving wheel arrangements, as well as various wheel motor arrangements, can be envisaged.
- the robotic cleaning device may have any appropriate shape, such as a device having a more traditional circular-shaped main body, or a triangular-shaped main body.
- a track propulsion system may be used or even a hovercraft propulsion system.
- the propulsion system may further be arranged to cause the robotic cleaning device 100 to perform any one or more of a yaw, pitch, translation or roll movement.
- a controller 116 such as a microprocessor controls the wheel motors 115 a , 115 b to rotate the driving wheels 112 , 113 as required in view of information received from an obstacle detecting device (not shown in FIG. 1 ) for detecting obstacles in the form of walls, floor lamps, table legs, around which the robotic cleaning device must navigate.
- the obstacle detecting device may be embodied in the form of a 3D sensor system registering its surroundings, implemented by means of e.g. a 3D camera, a camera in combination with lasers, a laser scanner, etc. for detecting obstacles and communicating information about any detected obstacle to the microprocessor 116 .
- the microprocessor 116 communicates with the wheel motors 115 a , 115 b to control movement of the wheels 112 , 113 in accordance with information provided by the obstacle detecting device such that the robotic cleaning device 100 can move as desired across the surface to be cleaned.
- the robotic cleaning device 100 is equipped with one or more batteries 117 for powering the different components included in the cleaning device 100 .
- the one or more batteries 117 are charged via a charging station into which the robotic cleaning device 100 docks.
- the main body in of the robotic cleaner 100 comprises a suction fan 120 creating an air flow for transporting debris to a dust bag or cyclone arrangement (not shown) housed in the main body via the opening 118 in the bottom side of the main body in.
- the suction fan 120 is driven by a fan motor 121 communicatively connected to the controller 116 from which the fan motor 121 receives instructions for controlling the suction fan 120 .
- the main body 111 is further arranged with one or more rotatable side brushes 114 adjacent to the opening 118 . The rotation of the side brush 114 is typically accomplished by a separate motor (not shown in FIG. 1 ), or a brush roll motor.
- the controller/processing unit 116 embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors is arranged to execute a computer program 125 downloaded to a suitable storage medium 126 associated with the microprocessor, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Flash memory or a hard disk drive.
- the controller 116 is arranged to carry out a method according to embodiments of the present invention when the appropriate computer program 125 comprising computer-executable instructions is downloaded to the storage medium 126 and executed by the controller 116 .
- the storage medium 126 may also be a computer program product comprising the computer program 125 .
- the computer program 125 may be transferred to the storage medium 126 by means of a suitable computer program product, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), compact disc (CD) or a memory stick.
- a suitable computer program product such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), compact disc (CD) or a memory stick.
- the computer program 125 may be downloaded to the storage medium 126 over a wired or wireless network.
- the controller 116 may alternatively be embodied in the form of a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc.
- DSP digital signal processor
- ASIC application specific integrated circuit
- FPGA field-programmable gate array
- CPLD complex programmable logic device
- FIG. 2 shows a front view of the robotic cleaning device 100 of FIG. 1 in an embodiment of the present invention illustrating the previously mentioned obstacle detecting device in the form of a 3D sensor system comprising at least a camera 123 and a first and a second line laser 127 , 128 , which may be horizontally or vertically oriented line lasers. Further shown is the controller 116 , the main body 111 , the driving wheels 112 , 113 , and the rotatable side brush 114 . The controller 116 is operatively coupled to the camera 123 for recording images of a vicinity of the robotic cleaning device 100 .
- the first and second line lasers 127 , 128 may preferably be vertical line lasers and are arranged lateral of the camera 123 .
- the camera 123 is controlled by the controller 116 to capture and record a plurality of images per second. Data from the images is extracted by the controller 116 and the data is typically saved in the memory 126 along with the computer program 125 .
- the first and second line laser 127 , 128 are configured to scan, preferably in a vertical orientation, the vicinity of the robotic cleaning device 100 , normally in the direction of movement of the robotic cleaning device 100 .
- the first and second line lasers 127 , 128 are configured to send out laser beams, which illuminate furniture, walls and other objects of e.g. a room to be cleaned.
- the camera 123 is controlled by the controller 116 to capture and record images from which the controller 116 creates a representation or layout of the surroundings that the robotic cleaning device 100 is operating in, by extracting features from the images and by measuring the distance covered by the robotic cleaning device 100 , while the robotic cleaning device 100 is moving across the surface 129 to be cleaned.
- side brush 114 may be arranged on a robotic cleaning device 100 which is less complex than that exemplified for illustrative purposes in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- the robotic cleaning device 100 in order to avoid the side brush 114 entangling with fibres of a carpet, or to avoid hampering the capability of the robot 100 to climb over objects such as thresholds, cables and carpet edges, or simply to not permanently have the side brush 114 contacting the surface over which the robotic cleaning device 100 moves, the robotic cleaning device 100 is equipped with a mechanism for retracting the side brush 114 into a space in the main body 111 .
- FIG. 3 illustrates the robotic cleaning device 100 being equipped with such a mechanism comprising a retractable member 119 , such as a rod or a piston, on which the side brush 114 is arranged, and an actuator exemplified by motor 124 for retracting the rod 122 into the space 119 in the main body 111 .
- a retractable member 119 such as a rod or a piston
- motor 124 for retracting the rod 122 into the space 119 in the main body 111 .
- the controller 116 will control the motor 124 to retract the rod 122 into the space 119 such that the side brush 114 advantageously is partly or fully retracted into the space 119 having as a result that the side brush 114 no longer contacts the surface 129 .
- the controller 116 will control the motor 124 to extend the rod 122 out from the space 119 , whereby the side brush 124 will extend out from the space 119 and finally contact the surface 129 as shown in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 illustrates the robotic cleaning device 100 being equipped with a mechanism for extracting the rotatable side brush 114 into a space 119 in the main body 111 according to a further embodiment.
- the rotatable side brush 114 is retracted into the space 119 in a direction being axial to the rotational axis of the rotatable side brush 114 .
- the retracting member 122 may be embodied by a rod or piston being retracted into—or extended out of—the space by means of a motor 124 such that the side brush 114 advantageously is partly or fully retracted into/extended out of the space 119 in order to move the side brush 114 in and out of contact with the surface 129 .
- the motor 124 is utilized for causing the retracting member 122 to retract into/extend out of the space 119 in the main body 111 , and it may be necessary to equip the robotic cleaning device 100 with a further motor (not shown) for actually rotating the side brush 114 .
- FIG. 5 a illustrates a further embodiment of the mechanism for retracting the rotatable side brush 114 into the space 119 in a direction being axial to the rotational axis of the rotatable side brush 114 .
- the retracting member is embodied in the form of a threaded rod 122 a located in the space 119 , which threaded rod 122 a the motor 124 is arranged to rotate.
- the space 119 is cylindrically shaped (which may also be the case in the previously illustrated embodiments).
- the mechanism comprises an annular threaded member 130 to which the side brush 114 is attached, which annular threaded member 130 is arranged to engage with the threaded rod 122 a.
- a diameter of the cylindrically shaped space 119 is adapted to the dimensions of the side brush 114 such that friction is created between the side brush 114 and an interior of the cylindrically shaped space. As can be seen in FIG. 5 a , the retracted side brush 114 is in close contact with the interior of the space 119 .
- the friction between the side brush 114 and the interior of the space 119 will prevent the side brush 114 from rotating—or at least from freely rotating—which has as an effect that the annular member 130 and thus the side brush 114 will move downwards along the threaded rod 122 a and extend out of the space 119 until it reaches an end section 131 of the threaded rod 122 a preventing the annular threaded member 130 to move out of threaded engagement with the threaded rod 122 a.
- the motor 124 will rotate the threaded rod 122 a in the indicated first direction while the friction between the interior of the space 119 and the side brush 114 will prevent the side brush 114 from rotating.
- the controller 116 will control the motor 124 to alter the rotational direction of the threaded rod 122 a , in which case friction between the rotating side brush 114 and the surface 129 to be cleaned causes the annular threaded member 130 to move in an upward direction along the threaded rod 122 a to retract into the space 119 .
- the motor 124 used for causing the side brush 114 to retract into/extend out of the space 119 is also used for rotating the side brush 114 .
- a single motor 124 can be used for handling both the retraction/extension as well as the rotation of the side brush 114 .
- FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment, where a spring 132 is arranged between the end member 131 and the annular threaded member 130 , the spring being attached to either one of the end member 131 and the annular threaded member 130 .
- the friction between the rotating side brush (not shown in FIG. 7 ) and the surface to be cleaned may be controlled based on degree of stiffness of the selected spring 132 .
Abstract
A robotic cleaning device having a main body, a propulsion system configured to move the robotic cleaning device over a surface to be cleaned, a controller configured to control the propulsion system to move the robotic cleaning device over the surface to be cleaned, at least one rotatable side brush arranged to sweep debris from the surface to be cleaned, and a mechanism configured to at least partly retract the at least one rotatable side brush into a space arranged inside the main body upon receiving a control signal from the controller, such that the rotatable side brush is moved out of contact with the surface to be cleaned.
Description
- The invention relates to a robotic cleaning device being equipped with at least one retractable side brush.
- Robotic vacuum cleaners are known in the art, which are equipped with drive means in the form of motors for moving the cleaner across a surface to be cleaned. The robotic vacuum cleaners are further equipped with intelligence in the form of microprocessor(s) and navigation means for enabling an autonomous behaviour such that the robotic vacuum cleaners freely can move around and clean a space in the form of e.g. a room.
- Traditionally, robotic vacuum cleaners have been arranged with circular-shaped main bodies. Such a robot having co-axial drive wheels at the centre of its body has the advantage that it is easy to control and cannot easily get stuck since it always can rotate 180° and go back the same way it came.
- However, the circular-shaped main body makes them unsuitable for cleaning corners or edges where a floor meets a wall since these circular vacuum cleaners due to their shape cannot move into a corner or close enough to a wall, or other objects around which cleaning is required such as e.g. chair legs.
- An example of a robotic vacuum cleaner aiming at solving this problem is disclosed in US 2013/0086760, the main body of which is circular-shaped, and which robotic vacuum cleaner is equipped with rotatable side brushes which are arranged at a bottom side of the main body in a front section of the robotic vacuum cleaner for sweeping debris out of corners where the robotic vacuum cleaner cannot reach. Further, each rotatable side brush is mounted on a respective pivotable arm which can be pivoted to have the side brushes extend in front of the main body to reach even further. Side brushes have also been used for robotic vacuum cleaner having other shapes, such as triangular shapes.
- Now, a problem with side brushes is that they have a tendency of performing poorly on certain types of surfaces, such as for instance carpets where carpet fibres can get entangled with the rotating brushes. Further, carpets also wear the side brushes down thereby impacting their durability and may even cause unintentional lift of the robot, not letting it sink into the carpet to clean it thoroughly. Another disadvantage is that the side brushes hamper the capability of the robot to climb over objects such as thresholds, cables and carpet edges.
- An object of the invention is to solve, or at least mitigate this problem in the art, and thus to provide a robotic vacuum cleaner which is not hampered by its side brushes.
- This object is attained in a first aspect of the invention by a robotic cleaning device comprising, a main body, a propulsion system configured to move the robotic cleaning device over a surface to be cleaned, a controller configured to control the propulsion system to move the robotic cleaning device over the surface to be cleaned, at least one rotatable side brush arranged to sweep debris from the surface to be cleaned. The robotic cleaning device further comprises a mechanism configured to at least partly retract said at least one rotatable side brush into a space arranged inside the main body upon receiving a control signal from the controller, such that the rotatable side brush is moved out of contact with the surface to be cleaned.
- Advantageously, by being capable of retracting the side brush(es), the robotic cleaning device can avoid a situation where the side brush entangles with fibres of a carpet, or to improve the capability of the robot to climb over objects such as thresholds, cables and carpet edges, or simply enable to not permanently have the side brush contacting the surface over which the robotic cleaning device moves.
- In an embodiment, the mechanism further comprises a retractable member coupled to the at least one rotatable side brush arranged to retract the at least one rotatable side brush into said space, and an actuator (e.g. a motor) arranged to move the retractable member into, or out of, said space upon receiving a control signal from the controller.
- In an embodiment, said at least one rotatable side brush is arranged to be retractable into the space inside the main body in an axial direction with respect to the rotational axis of the side brush.
- In an embodiment, said space is cylindrically shaped and the mechanism configured to retract said at least one rotatable side brush comprises a threaded rod located in the cylindrically shaped space, an annular threaded member to which the at least one rotatable side brush is attached, the annular threaded member being arranged to engage with the threaded rod, and an actuator (e.g. a motor) configured to rotate the threaded rod. Further, a diameter of the cylindrically shaped space is adapted to a dimension of the at least one rotatable side brush such that friction is created between the side brush and an interior of the cylindrically shaped space, thereby at least partly preventing the at least one rotatable side brush (114) to rotate when in contact with said interior, wherein said friction causes the annular threaded member to move along the threaded rod to extend out from the space in order to have the at least one rotatable side brush rotate and sweep the debris from the surface to be cleaned upon the threaded rod rotating in a first direction, the threaded annular member moving along the threaded rod until it reaches an end member of the threaded rod preventing the annular threaded member to move out of threaded engagement with the threaded rod, and friction between the at least one rotating side brush and the surface to be cleaned causes the annular threaded member to move along the threaded rod to retract into the space upon the threaded rod rotating in a second direction. Advantageously, the same actuator is used for retracting the side brush and for rotating the side brush.
- In a further embodiment, the mechanism further comprises a spring arranged between the annular threaded member and the end member.
- In still an embodiment, the robotic cleaning device further comprises an opening in a bottom side of the main body via which debris is removed from the surface, wherein the at least one rotatable side brush is arranged adjacent to the opening.
- Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc.” are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.
- The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 shows a robotic cleaning device according to an exemplifying embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 shows the robotic cleaning device ofFIG. 1 in a front view; -
FIG. 3 shows retraction of a rotatable side brush in an embodiment; -
FIG. 4 shows retraction of a rotatable side brush in another embodiment; -
FIGS. 5a and b shows retraction/extension of a rotatable side brush in an embodiment; -
FIGS. 6a and b shows extension of a rotatable side brush in an embodiment; and -
FIG. 7 shows a spring-biased side brush in an embodiment. - The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;
- rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.
- The invention relates to robotic cleaning devices, or in other words, to automatic, self-propelled machines for cleaning a surface, e.g. a robotic vacuum cleaner, a robotic sweeper or a robotic floor washer. The robotic cleaning device according to the invention can be mains-operated and have a cord, be battery-operated or use any other kind of suitable energy source, for example solar energy.
- Even though it is envisaged that the invention may be performed by a variety of appropriate robotic cleaning devices being equipped with sufficient processing intelligence,
FIG. 1 shows arobotic cleaning device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention in a bottom view, i.e. the bottom side of the robotic cleaning device is shown. The arrow indicates the forward direction of therobotic cleaning device 100 being illustrated in the form of a robotic vacuum cleaner. - The
robotic cleaning device 100 comprises a main body in housing components such as a propulsion system comprising driving means in the form of twoelectric wheel motors 115 a, 115 b for enabling movement of thedriving wheels wheel motor 115 a, 115 b is capable of controlling the respectivedriving wheel robotic cleaning device 100 across the surface to be cleaned. A number of different driving wheel arrangements, as well as various wheel motor arrangements, can be envisaged. It should be noted that the robotic cleaning device may have any appropriate shape, such as a device having a more traditional circular-shaped main body, or a triangular-shaped main body. As an alternative, a track propulsion system may be used or even a hovercraft propulsion system. The propulsion system may further be arranged to cause therobotic cleaning device 100 to perform any one or more of a yaw, pitch, translation or roll movement. - A
controller 116 such as a microprocessor controls thewheel motors 115 a, 115 b to rotate thedriving wheels FIG. 1 ) for detecting obstacles in the form of walls, floor lamps, table legs, around which the robotic cleaning device must navigate. The obstacle detecting device may be embodied in the form of a 3D sensor system registering its surroundings, implemented by means of e.g. a 3D camera, a camera in combination with lasers, a laser scanner, etc. for detecting obstacles and communicating information about any detected obstacle to themicroprocessor 116. Themicroprocessor 116 communicates with thewheel motors 115 a, 115 b to control movement of thewheels robotic cleaning device 100 can move as desired across the surface to be cleaned. - Further, the
robotic cleaning device 100 is equipped with one ormore batteries 117 for powering the different components included in thecleaning device 100. The one ormore batteries 117 are charged via a charging station into which therobotic cleaning device 100 docks. - Moreover, the main body in of the
robotic cleaner 100 comprises asuction fan 120 creating an air flow for transporting debris to a dust bag or cyclone arrangement (not shown) housed in the main body via theopening 118 in the bottom side of the main body in. Thesuction fan 120 is driven by afan motor 121 communicatively connected to thecontroller 116 from which thefan motor 121 receives instructions for controlling thesuction fan 120. Themain body 111 is further arranged with one or morerotatable side brushes 114 adjacent to the opening 118. The rotation of theside brush 114 is typically accomplished by a separate motor (not shown inFIG. 1 ), or a brush roll motor. - With further reference to
FIG. 1 , the controller/processing unit 116 embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors is arranged to execute acomputer program 125 downloaded to asuitable storage medium 126 associated with the microprocessor, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Flash memory or a hard disk drive. Thecontroller 116 is arranged to carry out a method according to embodiments of the present invention when theappropriate computer program 125 comprising computer-executable instructions is downloaded to thestorage medium 126 and executed by thecontroller 116. Thestorage medium 126 may also be a computer program product comprising thecomputer program 125. Alternatively, thecomputer program 125 may be transferred to thestorage medium 126 by means of a suitable computer program product, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), compact disc (CD) or a memory stick. As a further alternative, thecomputer program 125 may be downloaded to thestorage medium 126 over a wired or wireless network. Thecontroller 116 may alternatively be embodied in the form of a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc. -
FIG. 2 shows a front view of therobotic cleaning device 100 ofFIG. 1 in an embodiment of the present invention illustrating the previously mentioned obstacle detecting device in the form of a 3D sensor system comprising at least acamera 123 and a first and asecond line laser controller 116, themain body 111, the drivingwheels rotatable side brush 114. Thecontroller 116 is operatively coupled to thecamera 123 for recording images of a vicinity of therobotic cleaning device 100. The first andsecond line lasers camera 123. Thecamera 123 is controlled by thecontroller 116 to capture and record a plurality of images per second. Data from the images is extracted by thecontroller 116 and the data is typically saved in thememory 126 along with thecomputer program 125. - The first and
second line laser robotic cleaning device 100, normally in the direction of movement of therobotic cleaning device 100. The first andsecond line lasers camera 123 is controlled by thecontroller 116 to capture and record images from which thecontroller 116 creates a representation or layout of the surroundings that therobotic cleaning device 100 is operating in, by extracting features from the images and by measuring the distance covered by therobotic cleaning device 100, while therobotic cleaning device 100 is moving across thesurface 129 to be cleaned. - It is noted that the
side brush 114 may be arranged on arobotic cleaning device 100 which is less complex than that exemplified for illustrative purposes inFIGS. 1 and 2 . - Now, in an embodiment, in order to avoid the
side brush 114 entangling with fibres of a carpet, or to avoid hampering the capability of therobot 100 to climb over objects such as thresholds, cables and carpet edges, or simply to not permanently have theside brush 114 contacting the surface over which therobotic cleaning device 100 moves, therobotic cleaning device 100 is equipped with a mechanism for retracting theside brush 114 into a space in themain body 111. -
FIG. 3 illustrates therobotic cleaning device 100 being equipped with such a mechanism comprising aretractable member 119, such as a rod or a piston, on which theside brush 114 is arranged, and an actuator exemplified bymotor 124 for retracting therod 122 into thespace 119 in themain body 111. - Thus, if it no longer is desirable to have the
side brush 114 contact thesurface 129 to be cleaned, thecontroller 116 will control themotor 124 to retract therod 122 into thespace 119 such that theside brush 114 advantageously is partly or fully retracted into thespace 119 having as a result that theside brush 114 no longer contacts thesurface 129. Conversely, should it again be desirable to have theside brush 114 contact thesurface 129, thecontroller 116 will control themotor 124 to extend therod 122 out from thespace 119, whereby theside brush 124 will extend out from thespace 119 and finally contact thesurface 129 as shown inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 4 illustrates therobotic cleaning device 100 being equipped with a mechanism for extracting therotatable side brush 114 into aspace 119 in themain body 111 according to a further embodiment. - In this embodiment, the
rotatable side brush 114 is retracted into thespace 119 in a direction being axial to the rotational axis of therotatable side brush 114. Again, the retractingmember 122 may be embodied by a rod or piston being retracted into—or extended out of—the space by means of amotor 124 such that theside brush 114 advantageously is partly or fully retracted into/extended out of thespace 119 in order to move theside brush 114 in and out of contact with thesurface 129. - In the embodiments described with reference to
FIGS. 3 and 4 , themotor 124 is utilized for causing the retractingmember 122 to retract into/extend out of thespace 119 in themain body 111, and it may be necessary to equip therobotic cleaning device 100 with a further motor (not shown) for actually rotating theside brush 114. -
FIG. 5a illustrates a further embodiment of the mechanism for retracting therotatable side brush 114 into thespace 119 in a direction being axial to the rotational axis of therotatable side brush 114. - In this embodiment the retracting member is embodied in the form of a threaded
rod 122 a located in thespace 119, which threadedrod 122 a themotor 124 is arranged to rotate. Further in this embodiment, thespace 119 is cylindrically shaped (which may also be the case in the previously illustrated embodiments). - Moreover, the mechanism comprises an annular threaded
member 130 to which theside brush 114 is attached, which annular threadedmember 130 is arranged to engage with the threadedrod 122 a. - Now, in this embodiment, a diameter of the cylindrically shaped
space 119 is adapted to the dimensions of theside brush 114 such that friction is created between theside brush 114 and an interior of the cylindrically shaped space. As can be seen inFIG. 5a , the retractedside brush 114 is in close contact with the interior of thespace 119. - Upon the
motor 124 starts rotating the threadedrod 122 a in a first direction (i.e. the rotational direction of therotating side brush 114 when the brush in cleaning mode), the friction between theside brush 114 and the interior of thespace 119 will prevent theside brush 114 from rotating—or at least from freely rotating—which has as an effect that theannular member 130 and thus theside brush 114 will move downwards along the threadedrod 122 a and extend out of thespace 119 until it reaches anend section 131 of the threadedrod 122 a preventing the annular threadedmember 130 to move out of threaded engagement with the threadedrod 122 a. - Conversely, with reference to
FIG. 5b , upon themotor 124 starts rotating the threadedrod 122 a in a second direction (i.e. opposite to the rotational direction of therotating side brush 114 being in cleaning mode), the friction between theside brush 114 and the interior of thespace 119 will prevent theside brush 114 from rotating which has as an effect that theannular member 130 and thus theside brush 114 will move upwards along the threadedrod 122 a and retract into thespace 119 until it reaches an end position in the form of e.g. a position as measured by a sensor or a timer, or a mechanical end stop or simply an interior end wall of thespace 119. - Assuming that the retracted
side brush 114 ofFIG. 5a is to be extended out of thespace 119 and set into cleaning mode, themotor 124 will rotate the threadedrod 122 a in the indicated first direction while the friction between the interior of thespace 119 and theside brush 114 will prevent theside brush 114 from rotating. - With reference to
FIG. 6a , as a result of the friction, the annular threadedmember 130 and thus theside brush 114 will move in downwards direction along the threadedrod 122 a. - Subsequently, as can be seen in
FIG. 6b , the annular threadedmember 130 and thus theside brush 114 will exit thespace 119 and extend out from the main body in and move in a downward direction until the annular threadedmember 130 abuts against theend section 131 which prevents the annular threadedmember 130 to move out of engagement with the threadedrod 122 a. As can be concluded formFIG. 6b , therotating side brush 114 is now in cleaning mode. - In this position, if it is desirable that the annular threaded
member 130 and thus therotating side brush 114 is to be retracted into the main body iii of therobotic cleaning device 100, thecontroller 116 will control themotor 124 to alter the rotational direction of the threadedrod 122 a, in which case friction between therotating side brush 114 and thesurface 129 to be cleaned causes the annular threadedmember 130 to move in an upward direction along the threadedrod 122 a to retract into thespace 119. - Advantageously, with the embodiment illustrated in
FIGS. 5a-b and 6a-b , themotor 124 used for causing theside brush 114 to retract into/extend out of thespace 119 is also used for rotating theside brush 114. Hence, asingle motor 124 can be used for handling both the retraction/extension as well as the rotation of theside brush 114. -
FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment, where aspring 132 is arranged between theend member 131 and the annular threadedmember 130, the spring being attached to either one of theend member 131 and the annular threadedmember 130. Advantageously, by arranging theend member 131 and the annular threadedmember 130 to be spring-biased with respect to each other, the friction between the rotating side brush (not shown inFIG. 7 ) and the surface to be cleaned may be controlled based on degree of stiffness of the selectedspring 132. - The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.
Claims (8)
1. A robotic cleaning device comprising:
a main body;
a propulsion system configured to move the robotic cleaning device over a surface to be cleaned;
a controller configured to control the propulsion system to move the robotic cleaning device over the surface to be cleaned;
at least one rotatable side brush arranged to sweep debris from the surface to be cleaned; and
a mechanism configured to at least partly retract the at least one rotatable side brush into a space arranged inside the main body upon receiving a control signal from the controller, such that the rotatable side brush is moved out of contact with the surface to be cleaned.
2. The robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the mechanism comprises:
a retractable member coupled to the at least one rotatable side brush and arranged to retract the at least one rotatable side brush into the space; and
an actuator arranged to move the retractable member into, or out of, the space upon receiving a control signal from the controller.
3. The robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one rotatable side brush is configured to be retractable into the space inside the main body in an axial direction with respect to a rotational axis of the side brush.
4. The robotic cleaning device of claim 3 , wherein the space is cylindrically shaped and the mechanism comprises:
a threaded rod located in the cylindrically shaped space;
an annular threaded member to which the at least one rotatable side brush is attached, the annular threaded member being arranged to engage with the threaded rod; and
an actuator configured to rotate the threaded rod;
wherein a diameter of the cylindrically shaped space is adapted to a dimension of the at least one rotatable side brush such that friction is created between the side brush and an interior of the cylindrically shaped space, thereby at least partly preventing the at least one rotatable side brush from rotating when in contact with the interior; wherein
said friction causes the annular threaded member to move along the threaded rod to extend out from the space in order to have the at least one rotatable side brush rotate and sweep the debris from the surface to be cleaned upon the threaded rod rotating in a first direction, the threaded annular member moving along the threaded rod until it reaches an end member of the threaded rod preventing the annular threaded member to move out of threaded engagement with the threaded rod; and
friction between the at least one rotating side brush and the surface to be cleaned causes the annular threaded member to move along the threaded rod to retract into the space upon the threaded rod rotating in a second direction.
5. The robotic cleaning device of claim 4 , wherein the mechanism further comprises:
a spring arranged between the annular threaded member and the end member.
6. The robotic cleaning device of claim 4 , further comprising:
an opening in a bottom side of the main body via which debris is removed from the surface, wherein the at least one rotatable side brush is arranged adjacent to the opening.
7. The robotic cleaning device of claim 2 , wherein the actuator comprises a motor.
8. The robotic cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein the robotic cleaning device comprises a robotic vacuum cleaner, a robotic sweeper or a robotic floor washer.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
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PCT/EP2018/063177 WO2019219213A1 (en) | 2018-05-18 | 2018-05-18 | Robotic cleaning device with retractable side brush |
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US20210228035A1 true US20210228035A1 (en) | 2021-07-29 |
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US17/052,989 Abandoned US20210228035A1 (en) | 2018-05-18 | 2018-05-18 | Robotic cleaning device with retractable side brush |
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US (1) | US20210228035A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP3793419B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2021523769A (en) |
KR (1) | KR102510728B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN112188857B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2019219213A1 (en) |
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US20200367715A1 (en) * | 2019-05-20 | 2020-11-26 | Irobot Corporation | Sensors for an Autonomous Cleaning Robot |
WO2023051625A1 (en) * | 2021-09-28 | 2023-04-06 | 苏州宝时得电动工具有限公司 | Cleaning robot and control method therefor |
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CN112806914B (en) * | 2021-02-05 | 2022-08-19 | 云鲸智能科技(东莞)有限公司 | Round brush subassembly and cleaning machines people |
CN114287837B (en) * | 2022-01-21 | 2022-12-20 | 深圳巴诺机器人有限公司 | Corner cleaning robot and working method thereof |
CN115429161B (en) * | 2022-07-29 | 2023-09-29 | 云鲸智能(深圳)有限公司 | Control method, device and system of cleaning robot and storage medium |
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- 2018-05-18 WO PCT/EP2018/063177 patent/WO2019219213A1/en active Application Filing
- 2018-05-18 EP EP18726138.3A patent/EP3793419B1/en active Active
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Also Published As
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CN112188857A (en) | 2021-01-05 |
KR20210011377A (en) | 2021-02-01 |
JP2021523769A (en) | 2021-09-09 |
EP3793419A1 (en) | 2021-03-24 |
WO2019219213A1 (en) | 2019-11-21 |
CN112188857B (en) | 2022-10-28 |
KR102510728B1 (en) | 2023-03-15 |
EP3793419B1 (en) | 2023-07-19 |
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